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Digital Economy Bill [HL]

My Lords, I intend to speak to the Government’s Amendments 79 and 82, which deal with how and when technical obligations may be imposed together. With permission, I will also address Amendment 78, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Howard of Rising, and Amendment 80, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, as they also deal with this part of the Bill. Noble Lords will recall that I made it clear on a number of occasions in Committee that the Government considered that the initial obligations should be sufficient and should certainly be given a proper chance to work, and that we most certainly did not regard them as a mere precursor to technical obligations. Very often in this House we seem to ignore these initial obligations and somehow assume that we will proceed to technical measures. However, given the concerns expressed by the House, I agreed to consider amendments that would give effect to that commitment. The Government’s two amendments deliver on that commitment. They ensure that, under the Bill, the initial obligations will have a minimum of 12 months to work. We saw that as an understandable requirement when this was discussed in Committee, and we have tried to address that concern. Technical obligations cannot be introduced until at least a year after the initial obligations code comes into force. I hope noble Lords will agree that this is the right safeguard to have. Let us not forget that there will also be progress reports. In addition to the assessment carried out by Ofcom under Clause 10, we require that the Secretary of State must take into account reports published as part of Ofcom’s duties under Clause 9 when considering whether it is appropriate to make an order. It would be very strange if the Secretary of State did not automatically do that anyway, but these amendments make that a requirement on him in those circumstances. Given that assurance and the amendments, I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Howard of Rising, will be pleased and feel able to withdraw his amendment. In part, this also addresses Amendment 80 in the name of the noble Lord, Lord Lucas, and I hope that he is content with the 12-month period which we are specifying from the date on which the initial obligations code comes into effect before technical measures can be imposed. It is entirely sensible that the Secretary of State should also take into account reports produced as part of Ofcom’s duties under Clause 9. I suggest that there is no need to go any further; the policy intent is clear and a proper time is allowed for the initial obligations to work. I hope that this will satisfy the House. I hope noble Lords will agree that these amendments are helpful in ensuring that a proper time is allowed for initial obligations to work, and that all the evidence that is produced through this process is taken into account in the event of technical obligations being considered. I trust that the House will feel able to support the government amendments and that the noble Lord will feel able to withdraw his amendment.